Vallejo recruits deal with 'real' scenarios over two days

Published By Times Herald

The room quickly filled with smoke, and flames spread across the ceiling. In moments eyes began to water and breathing became nearly impossible.

Most of the occupants of the large Vallejo home, which would be set ablaze the next day, sat through all this as firefighters in training, getting their first dramatic look at a live fire scenario.

Several teams of academy students from Vallejo, American Canyon, Benicia, Napa and Cordelia spent all day Wednesday and Thursday training in areas of ventilation, fire attack, rapid intervention and rescue during the live fire attack training.

"We're taking new firefighters and recruits inside a structure, lighting it on fire and showing them fire behavior," said Dan Sarna, the training officer for the City of Vallejo Fire Department. "We're talking about it so they can see the fire start from the incipient stage all the way through to the free burning and close to flash-over stage and give them the chance to experience the heat and dynamics of fire before they come online."

More than 50 firefighter trainees took part in the two-day exercise. The culmination of the training was the complete controlled burn down of the structure. The rock chimney and two large over hanging trees were top priorities to keep protected.

"Under no circumstances do these trees burn," Sarna told the crew before the house was set ablaze.

The foundation of the old building was crumbling and according to GVRD General Manager Shane McAffee, "the training fire will help to make way for a new GVRD Nature and Education Center."

The last time anyone from the McIntyre family visited the 4,500 square foot home on McIntyre Ranch owned by the Greater Vallejo Recreation District was believed to be in the 1980s. The GVRD acquired the land in 1986.